It sounds like it is going to be a while before Chris Sale returns to the Boston Red Sox.
Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora has an update on the health of starting pitcher Chris Sale.
Cora said Sale’s MRI has shown “some healing” to his fractured rib, but it remains to be seen when the often-injured pitcher will begin throwing again. Sale missed all of the 2020 MLB season due to injury and was limited to only nine starts a year ago. While he was a perennial AL All-Star in his 20s, his 30s have hit him like a brick. Who knows when Sale will be back in the Red Sox rotation?
All the while, the Red Sox are expected to contend in what will be a very strong AL East division.
Boston Red Sox will be without LHP Chris Sale for the foreseeable future
At this point, anything Sale is able to provide the Red Sox this season should be viewed as a bonus. His injury issues have been well-documented. If Boston wants any hope of recouping the star pitcher he once was when they acquired him five years ago, they have to let him heal. He may no longer be the same pitcher, but his stuff is electrifying when he is at the apex of his powers.
The good news for the Red Sox is they know heading into this season that Sale may not be much of a factor for them. Therefore, Cora and the rest of the organization can prepare for the better part of another season without one of their more talented players. While a loss like Sale would be crushing for most, the Red Sox are one of the few teams that are well-equipped to offset this.
Boston may have finished eight games back of the Tampa Bay Rays a season ago, but the Red Sox still won 92 games. In fact, four of the five teams in the AL East won over 90 games. Sadly, it was the Toronto Blue Jays who did not get to take part in the postseason. So even if the Red Sox do not have Sale available for what could be the better part of the year, they still have a roster to manage.
Hopefully, Sale can return at some point this season to help get the Red Sox over the top in the AL.